Headshots
by Nena writes
Summary: Arthur's life before becoming the Queen of Spades was more trouble than he ever wished for and King Alfred can't help but want to know it all. A Cardverse multichapter fic with various pairings but the main pairing is USUK
1. Chapter 1

Headshots - Tales of the Four Kingdoms

Summary: Arthur's life before becoming the Queen of Spades was more trouble than he ever wished for and King Alfred can't help but want to know it all.  
Cardverse multichapter fic with various pairings but the main pairing is USUK.

Peter-Sealand / Arthur-England / Gilbert-Prussia / Niamh-Republic of Ireland

* * *

Part 1 - Birth

"Will he die today?"

"No, today he is reborn."

"... Why?"

"'Cause life hasn't quite finished pissing him off yet."

* * *

_Charming,_ thought Arthur as the worn rope was pulled over his head, _lovely to know that the kingdom puts so much funding in its justice system._ Despite the gossip that ran around the lands Arthur had no tricks to avoid death, in fact he was relieved that he was finally going to be executed. As a man of class however he would rather a more efficient end to his life or at least one that didn't insult the senses half as much.

He looked around the town square scanning the area taking in the scenery which wasn't much for December, snow topped roofs and bare trees out lined the square. The castle of Spades stuck out on the horizon; for the past couple decades it could only ever look so grand in the distance. Up close you could see paint peeling off the walls along with the cracked windows and fallen bricks that lay around the castle.

Arthur smirked at the crowd and hundreds of citizens glared back at him, they'd come to regard him as the villain over the years. If you were robbed at the middle of the night, it was Arthur who robbed you. If a relative or friend went missing, it was Arthur who kidnapped him. If a disease swept the town, it was Arthur who ailed them.

Finally his eyes rested on a duo who stood a few feet behind the crowd, far enough to be alone but not too far to obscure their view. Gilbert winked at him and Peter gave him a toothy grin, Arthur scowled at the pair who seemed ridiculously cheerful for two men at a public hanging. Well a man and a boy, at thirteen Peter was hardly a grown man. _Although_, Arthur closed his eyes as the magistrate began his speech, _those tossers always seem to have a heads up from destiny unlike the rest of us. _

"Arthur J Smith, you have been found guilty by the Royal Court of Spades of thirty-eight offenses including but not totalling: murder, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, arson, treason to the crown and ... public nudity." The magistrate stumbled at the last one and fidgeted with his glasses, his eyes flickered to Arthur briefly before continuing. "These charges have been put on you each time with the judge and or jury as required. I am bound by law to ask you, Mr Smith, do you have any last words."

It was at this point that Arthur was nervous. He had no idea what to say, something profound maybe or a simple insult. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes looking straight forward, directly at the castle.

"My n-"

Unknown to Arthur the magistrate gave a quick nod to the hangman who in turn pulled the wooden lever in front of him and cut the criminal's speech short.

The floor beneath Arthur was pulled away at the same time the rope tightened around his throat. His world turned black and the buzz of the crowd was gone.

Wordlessly a doctor, pale and young, walked over to Arthur to check for a pulse. He turned to crowd and announced that Arthur had died; no one made a sound but broken applause soon began followed by swearing and yelling. The town's folk were happy; the bastard was dead.

The magistrate and the doctor talked in hushed tones before exiting, the hangman stayed a few minutes longer and then left. The crowd did the same spitting at the ground and then leaving with a sighs of contempt, glad the man was dead and subconsciously thinking who their next villain would be. A few hours later the body was taken away by two undertakers, there was no funeral for the executed and you'd be hard pressed to find a man who could be bothered to throw a criminal's corpse into a ditch.

* * *

The elder of the two undertakers carried the body while the younger trailed behind him awkwardly holding a bag in one hand and a spade in the other. They kept walking through the town and past the houses until they reached the outskirts of the city where the countryside began. The pair continued on, marching through the fields until they reached forests that divided Spades from the opposite Kingdom. The man threw Arthur's body on the ground and groaned.

"He's heavy for such a skinny guy." The undertaker pulled down his hood revealing his white hair and crimson eyes. He yawned before clapping his hands and whistling at Peter to drop the possessions he was carrying and pay attention. "Lesson 147: reviving those who suffered from death before their time," He turned to Peter, "You better be taking notes here kid 'cause what your about to see here is a fucking miracle."

"Yes, Gilbert!" Peter nodded earnestly and watched as his master walked over to Arthur's head and kneeled next to it.

"Arthur's not really religious which is a good thing 'cause otherwise we'd be stuck hearing prayers for fuck knows how long. One hand on either side of his forehead and let the magic do all the work." The senior undertaker snorted under his breath. 'Let the magic do all the work' was about the biggest load of bull you could give to trainee magician but Gilbert couldn't help but say it as he began to focus his energy on Arthur's corpse.

Gilbert didn't shut his eyes like Peter did when performing magic, but the colour of his eyes changed to darker shades of red turning them almost black.

"Right, he is really dead but what signs are there that this is a case of 'death before their time' shit?" His voice lowered.

"His aura's still there."

"Yeah, other correct answers would be the prophecy and because we wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

Peter held back a giggle and Gilbert pressed his hands against Arthur's forehead.

"We're going to go into his mind and wake him up, it'll probably scare him a bit. Sit on the other side of him and hold his hands," Peter opened his mouth to complain but the other man cut him off, "Don't whine like a bitch! Go and hold his hands or I'll leave you here," Peter stomped over to the body and held Arthur's hands muttering under his breath.

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Let's get this show on the road then."

* * *

Peter thought it would be cloudy or mystical in Arthur's mind but no; they ended up in a pub. A god damn run of the mill pub. He felt a voice speak softly in his ear.

"Arthur's sitting in the back booth, next to the portrait of the old king. You have to persuade him to wake up by yourself 'cause he can't see me, doesn't want to, but you have a form in his mind. Means you're the only one who can talk to him," Gilbert paused, "You have to remember he doesn't hate you, he could never bring himself to hate you. Also, this is the important bit, he doesn't _really _want to die he's just a bit stupid when it comes to feelings."

"Now go!" Gilbert yelled in Peter's ear, the boy rushed forward and the boy raced to the booth, dodging dancers and drinkers on his way. The crowds barely noticed him and swiftly moved out of his way as if they knew beforehand that Peter would be racing toward them.

The lad stood near the booth just out of Arthur's line of sight, Peter straightened his shirt and ran his hand through his hair. He turned round and walked over to Arthur with a grin on his face, trying to hide his nervousness. The man was sitting in the corner of the booth and had at least a dozen empty beer pint glasses keeping him company along with another half empty glass.

"Anyone sitting here?" Peter slid into the seat opposite Arthur.

"Yes, my friends Mr Nobody and the Invisible man, so would you kindly bugger off kid." Arthur glared at him and gulped down the rest of his pint. Peter kept smiling and resisted the urge to yell at his brother and sulk in the corner of the room.

"Arthur, come on we're family, can't say no to your family." The boy kept smiling and reached for one of the glasses in the hopes of scoring a few mouthfuls of beer. Arthur snatched the glass from him and slammed it back on the table.

"Nice try lad, but you're not getting any of my beer unless you help pay for it."

"It's just a little bi-"

"It's the principle!" Arthur rolled his eyes and stared melancholy at the glass.

"Arthur, do you know why I'm here?" Peter asked slowly, deciding the direct approach was the best.

"Yes! You're here to make me go back! I dun't wanna go back though!" The man waved his arms out and threw his head back. Arthur let out a stream of hiccups and Peter watched with wide eyes.

"_You're in Arthur's mind dummkopf! He's drinking the bar dry but he wasn't drunk because he didn't want to be. Now he's sad and confused. 'Cause he can't control his emotions he's a drunk."_

Gilbert yelled once again but Arthur didn't react or notice and continued with his drunken ramblings.

"I never wanted to turn out this way! I was a good boy Pet'r... a good boy! But Niamh," Arthur roared with drunken laughter, "Stupid cow ruined _everything_."

"Nia-"

"Did I ev'r tell you 'bout Niamh? Two words, _stupid cow!_ She stole _my_ inheritance and then she threw me out of the house!," Tears began to fill Arthur's eyes, "Father threw the rest of us out the house, told us to make our own way in the world. So he took away everything we ever knew, disowned us so we had to take a new last name. And it's all her bloody fault!"

He buried his face in his hands, knocking over pint glasses which shattered on the floor.

"Arthur, it's not Niamh's fault. She wanted to let you all stay and be a family but she had no choice." Peter raised his voice and yanked Arthur's hands away to look at his face.

"She had no choice but you do. You can get the family back together." Peter nodded encouragingly and Arthur swallowed back a sob.

"I can't make everthing back the way it was."

"No, you can make it better."

The two blonds stared at each other, not flinching or blinking. Unknown to the pair the room around them began to change. The people standing at the bar and dance floor had whittled away along with the glasses that sat upon the table top. The brick walls had turned to mist and the stench of cigarettes had gone.

"I can't."

"You can try."

A small smile grew on Arthur's face, his gaze dropped to the table and the tear stains on his face slowly faded away.

"I want to live."

Before the last of the surroundings disappeared a small voice whispered into Peter's ear.

_"Not bad newbie, not bad at all."_

* * *

"Welcome back to the Realm of the Living Arthur Kirkland."

"Piss off Gilbert, there's no need for you to be so smug." Arthur scowled at Gilbert who was beaming down at him.

"You can let go of his hand now Peter." The albino said in a sing-song voice and leapt up from his spot on the grass to stand tall over Arthur.

Arthur chucked as Peter let out a string of obscurities, the boy grabbed the bag and spade and marched away from the older men.

"Oh come on Peter don't be like that!" Arthur stood up and began to walk to the town. Gilbert's laugh bellowed out as he raced after the youngest member of the trio leaving Arthur to trail behind the jokers; confused, hopeful but mostly in need of a pint.

* * *

_"So you died and they brought you back to life?"_

_"Well yes but I still haven't forgiven them for it."_

_"But we never would have met if they hadn't!"_

_"Exactly, I wouldn't be stuck babysitting you."_

* * *

Nena's notes: :I my fingers slipped. Un-beta's and will be updated when I can.


	2. Chapter 2

Headshots - Tales of the four kingdoms

_Jos - The Netherlands, Mathais - Denmark, Emma - Belgium _

Part II - Death

_"Most nobility fear death above all else, are you truly not scared of dying?"_

_"The death of a man of the people is mourned, we are never forgotten and we are worshipped in our passing."_

_"They are Sir K. You never will be forgotten, well we will all be forgotten one day, but I wouldn't call what the citizens will do as worshipping. When the news of your death gets out everyone will be glad that you're finally dead, 'cause you ain't no man of the people you're the man the people despise."  
_

_"You sound almost as if you agree with them boy."_

_"I do. Goodnight Sir Kirkland and may the Gods find some reason to have mercy on your pitiful soul."_

* * *

_The jokers stopped dead, they'd reached the outskirts of the town. The first row of houses was a mere stones throw away and the smell of bread, fresh out of the oven, filled their noses. Arthur decided it was time to make his leave._

_"Well gentlemen it's been a pleasure. Maybe one day we could meet again," Arthur smiled at his companions who stared back with cold, blank expressions, "Must be off, people to see and all that."_

_"Do you really think it's that easy Artie?" Gilbert's voice was barely louder than a whisper but the sound travelled into Arthur's ear and made him feel an emotion he couldn't quite remember the name of._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"This is a second chance, you screwed up big time so much that we had to cheat death to get your sorry ass back here. Do you really think we'd let you walk away just so you can mess it all up again?," His voice rose in anger and Gilbert spat on the ground._

_"What's it to you! You're a freak, you're a bloody joker for god's sake!" The blond growled and clenched his hands into fists._

_"I'm not a freak." mumbled Peter, who had remained silent and relatively still up until now, flinched at the word 'freak'. A joker was recognised as one shortly after birth purely from parental instinct, instantly being classed as second-rate. They had never been well liked at any point in history. Tolerated was probably the best word to describe a joker's place in society, if you were being kind._

_The two men looked at Peter and swallowed. Arthur knew that he was related to the boy, it was hardly a secret, how closely was unknown. He'd always guessed they were cousins of a varying degree but now Peter was beginning to feel more and more like a younger brother._

_"Peter, I-"_

_"You're not sorry, Arthur, I don't think you know how."  
_

_Arthur stood with his mouth open completely unable to think of a retort, Peter scrunched up his face and shut his eyes tight. Before the criminal had time to question what on earth the boy was doing a drowsy feeling swept over him, his body began to ache and his head didn't stop spinning. The two jokers watched as Arthur fell to the ground, falling face first into the muddy grass._

_The pair shared a smile that was just short of reaching their eyes and the boy looked at his master expectantly, Gilbert picked up the criminal's body once again and Peter trailed after him like a lost puppy. The elder man patted Peter on the shoulder awkwardly, showing affection had never been his forte._

_"We going home?" Peter asked. He got a nod in return. Gilbert looked down at the man he was carrying._

_"It's name is fear."_

* * *

It didn't strike Arthur the least bit odd that only a few weeks after his revival his father died, in fact it shocked him that the man hadn't kicked the bucket sooner. He would have gone out and celebrated the old git's death; gone out, get pissed, find a nice lass or bloke depending on his mood and a cheap room.

Gilbert had other plans the first of which being that Arthur was not allowed to know where he was or leave. The second was that a joker must watch over him at all times. Arthur looked around the room he was in, it was one of the messiest places he'd ever been. There was too much furniture for such a small space with several lifetimes worth of books, dozens of pictures hung lop sided on the wall and mountains paper of dotted around. Despite the clutter the room was clean and warm, no cobwebs or dust insight but the huge number of dirty dishes more than made up for that.

"Where I am?"

"Can't answer."

"Why am I here?"

"Can't answer."

"Am I ever going to be allowed to leave?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Can't answer." Peter beamed and shrieked with glee as Arthur banged his head against the nearest wall.

"Where's Gilbert?"

"Visiting choice persons with insightful views and information to discuss your fate and how to go about achieving a common goal."

"So he's ..."

"Out drinking with friends and bitching about having to help you."

"Dare I ask who?" Peter's smile widened further.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know."

* * *

The albino let out a sigh and swallowed another mouthful of beer, oh this was heaven. His drinking buddies grinned at each other and looked back at Gilbert in his state of bliss. One of them, a Spades solider called Mathias with a talent for axe throwing, swung his arm around Gilbert's shoulder.

"Missed you man, seriously were you've been? Saving other bastard from themself?"

"Something like that, you won't believe who it is." Gilbert downed the last of his beer and motioned the bar tender for another round.

"We know him then?" asked the other man. His name was Jos and he was a baker from Hearts. He'd been thrown out of the family home as a teenager, moving to Spades to spite his parents.

"You know I can't tell you that, he's suppost to be this powerful guy and I know how to help him get where he needs to go but he's gonna have to get that stick out his ass and damn is that thing jammed tight in there." Gilbert rolled his eyes and grabbed the beer out of the bar tender's hands and gulped it down.

"So he's too stubborn to accept help?" Mathais removed his arm and cocked his head to the side in the hopes of reaching understanding.

"That's part of it but he has to learn to, to" Gilbert groaned in frustration, "Damn it! No wait I got it, he needs to learn how to connect with people. Once he's got that he can fulfill his destiny without much help from me and Pete."

"What is his destiny?" Jos' asked, his curiosity had awakened.

"To the man who lost it all I gave you a name to start again, I would help you some more but your foolish pride would ignore my cries, through the mist and the storm you managed to rise above us all." The joker recited the prophecy with little enthusiasm.

"Sounds like he was always going to screw up though."

While they had been talking, Mathais had moved his stool closer to Gilbert's and clung to his friend.

"Gilbert~" Mathais sang in his ear.

Gilbert gave out an exasperated sigh. "What is it?"

"Whats my destiny?"

Gilbert looked at him really looked at him. His eyes shone, probably from the drink, and his expression reminded him of a hopeful puppy. _You will run through life, with many people and you will never be alone; then one day you will find someone who runs faster who you will chase for the rest of your years._

"You," Gilbert had his hands on Mathais' shoulders, holding themast arms length, "are going to buy the next round." He rapidly nodded his head. Mathais nodded back, shoving his hands in his pocket looking desperately for money. He slammed a handful of notes on the counter.

"Another round my good man!"

The trio spent hours at the bar, singing off-key tunes and waving pints of beer spilling most of the contents on themselves and the floor.

"Oh damn!" Gilbert's eyes caught on the latest patron to the bar and Jos immediately followed suit.

"I'm in a stable relationship with a woman I love very much." Mathias stared at his drink, determined not to look as the . Dating the lovely Emma came with a price, in the form of an over-protective older brother who happened to be one of his best friends and drinking buddy.

The newbie walked up to the bar and sat two stools away from the trio, just out of earshot. Gilbert licked his lips and stood up, sauntering over to the potential bed for the night. Jos chuckled into his drink.

Mathais jerked his head in Gilbert's direction. "You know the kid don't you."

"Yup. Francis took him under his wing a while back, watches over him like a mother hen. Last guy that tried to flirt with him got a broken nose and a chunk of hair ripped out." Jos took another swig of beer watching as Mathais burst into fits of laughter and tried not to fall off the stool.

"Looks like your friends are enjoying themselves." Matthew raised an eyebrow as Mathais' crashed to the floor. Gilbert rolled his eyes, he had no problem with his friends acting like idiots as long as it didn't get in the way of his flirting.

"So about that drink then?"

Matthew laughed and leaned back with one hand on his hip."I don't have a habit of drinking with strangers but today I'll make an exception."

"Lucky me." Gilbert wiggled his eyebrows in away he hoped was sexy, it resulted in Matthew trying to hide his laugh behind a coughing fit.

* * *

"Matthew, you're so pretty, what are you doing in a place like this? You should be somewhere just as pretty as you but you can't 'cause there ain't no where as pretty as you." Gilbert placed a sloppy wet kiss on the other man's cheek.

Matthew blushed and continued to help the joker walk. Jos and Mathais had left the pair shortly after they'd sat down for drinks not leaving without yelling lewd remarks across the bar, as any good friends would do, embarrassing the hell out of the couple. When they had been thrown out of the bar at around midnight, Matthew took charge and decided Gilbert was coming home with him.

Their arms were over each others' shoulders in an attempt to keep them both from falling over, Gilbert started swaying off to the side of the street in his drunken state. _Oh shit, _Matthew tighten his grip on the other man and dragged him back.

"Come on Gilbert nearly home now."

"Do you always take strange men home with you Matthew?"

"No but I've never meet a man who could drink as much as you without falling asleep or throwing up. You're an absolute oddity." The blond chuckled.

Their chatter echoed around the street, merging with others' howls whilst they also returned home from pubs. Soon they arrived at Matthew's house, a tall and thin building painted bright red. Matthew quickly found his keys and the pair shuffled in, Gilbert almost immediately collapsed on the stairs and refused to move.

"Please Gilbert, there are much more comfortable places to sleep."

"No I'm not movin'!"

"Please Gilbert!"

"Only if you give me a kiss." Matthew had to fight back the urge to strangle the other man. He was tired, not exactly sober and getting more and more frustrated by the minute. The blond bent down and gave Gilbert a quick kiss on the lips.

"That's not a proper kiss." Gilbert protested.

"You weren't exactly specific and you're lucky I kissed you at all you taste like cheep beer and you smell worse. And for the Gods' sake listen when I yell at you!" The blonde's face was flaming red and he was panting hard. Matthew realised the other man had fallen asleep.

"Oh Gilbert," Matthew sat on the steps and tucked wayward strands of Gilbert's hair behind his ear, "What am I going to do with you, eh?"

He curled around the joker, swearing under his breath when one of the steps digged into his ribs. The pair slept through the morning on the stairs with the front door wide open and rain falling on their feet.

* * *

Nena's notes: Apparently one of the appeals of Cardverse is the different interpretations that each writer or artist has. Personally I like Cardverse as I'm an avid fan of card games and chess. Also about the characters themselves, to me they are the biggest bunch of dorks that ever did dork.

Big thank you to the two guests that reviewed the last chapter, everyone who favourited and is following the story and everyone who read it :)


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